The top 10 destinations to watch for 2017

The hottest places to travel for the year
ahead

words by Laura Fowler

California

The sunbleached Golden State has not shone this brightly since
the revolutionary 1960s. In Trump's America, California is a safe haven for New Bohemians, flocking here for
the sunshine and sustainable way of life. Within California, rootsy
migrations are riffling across the state, a kind of deurbanisation
as hipster-hippies from the cities move into the hinterlands of
desert and wine country, putting down roots, making dreamcatchers
and mucking out chickens. The otherworldly Joshua Tree National Park is a promised land
for musicians, a creative community where the beat goes on long
after neighbouring Coachella is over. 'These tiny towns in the high
desert are this generation's Big Sur,' says LA musician Brian
Smirke, who has created two cool boho hideaways in Joshua Tree.
'It's full of like-minded artists and adventurers who have a common
appreciation for the beauty of the desert.' Across the way, Palm
Springs is buzzing again like it's 1959.

Something similar is happening in the north of California, where
Sonoma County and the city of Healdsburg is being hailed as the new Napa
Valley. 'The little city, 65 miles north of San Francisco, is the secret darling of
American foodies,' writes Sybil Kapoor in her piece on Healdsburg and SingleThread, the most
hotly anticipated restaurant opening in the USA
in recent years. Unlike Napa, its flourishing food scene is all
about the farm-to-table ethos, where left-leaning artisans and
smart San Franciscans champion the small and slow and the idea of
living off the land. New direct British Airways flights from London
to Sacramento are opening up this region of northern California for
a whole new generation of Brits yearning to wear flowers in their
hair, 50 years on.

...

Cambodia

Here's a new year's resolution you'll be happy to keep: go
somewhere you've never been before - and for 2017, make it
Cambodia. Go to Angkor Wat, one of the world's eternally great
wonders which far exceeds all the hype - then head for the coast.
Cambodia's southern coast is gearing up to be the hottest beach
destination in South-East Asia for travellers looking for something
a bit different. It is dotted with hundreds of tiny islands,
perfect tropical idylls with white-sand beaches lapped by clear
turquoise seas. The people are the sweetest. And there's barely a
soul around.

Independent travellers should rock up at Rabbit Island, which is
super-lo-fi and laidback, with rustic wooden beach huts and
cobbled-together beach restaurants where you eat fried crab with
your toes in the sand.

At the top end, Song Saa has for the past few years been the
superlative beach resort. But hey - two more wondrous new places to
stay opening in 2017. Alila Villas Koh Russey is a new all-villa
resort on its own island, with a stunning two-kilometre beach, 15
minutes by boat from the coast. In May, Six Senses Krabey Island
will have 40 pool villas, and it's the under-the-stars outdoor
Cinema Paradiso and up-to-the-stars observatory that really set it
apart.

...

Denmark

Hygge was one of 2016's more joyous trends. Heaven knows we need
a good dose of it, even while we may not entirely understand it.
The Danish concept - pronounced 'hoo-gah'- is the culture of
cosiness and that lovely warm feeling you get from a hug, say, or
holing up somewhere serene and devastatingly stylish, and
preferably candlelit.

With this in mind, we're all going on a hygge holiday in 2017.
Denmark
is regularly voted one of the world's happiest countries. The
quality of life is exceptional. All those handsome Danes, smiling
with their perfect teeth as they cycle home to their perfect
houses.

A city break in Copenhagen
is a fine thing for the soul. So much style and beauty, and a dose
of good fresh air. Denmark's second city, Aarhus, near the beaches on the east coast,
makes an interesting alternative, particularly in 2017 when it is a
European Capital of Culture. A year-long programme of cultural
events adds to Aarhus's already exciting art scene (the ARoS
Aarhus Art Museum will host its first Triennial in April) and
regenerated docklands are abuzz with bars and live music.

Perhaps the most exciting scene of all in Denmark right now is
the food. Sixteen Michelin-starred restaurants in Copenhagen alone
(including Noma, frequently named 'best restaurant in the world');
three in Aarhus; more in the country inns set beside
lakes and fjords. The food is sensational, drawing on the very best
local ingredients and presented as works of art; and the interiors
are divine. Hygge indeed.

...

Film-set-unreal Hampi is devastatingly romantic. In the
wilderness of Karnataka in South India, it is an ancient ruined city, a UNESCO
site of 550 monuments and temples, and one of the most
breathtakingly beautiful places in the world: serene and surreal,
with its intricately carved temples, empty and crumbling among
giant red-gold boulders and banana trees.

Hampi has been on the hippie hitlist forever. A few hours by
train or car from Goa, it is hardly remote - and yet it is mainly
backpackers and die-hard Indiaphiles who make the pilgrimage there.
The drawback was that, until recently, there were few appealing
places to stay (the stone cottages of Boulders were our digs of
choice).

Now the gap-year wonder has come of age. At last a proper luxury
hotel has opened, The Orange County Hampi, built in the style of a
palace from the days of the 14th century Vijayanagara Empire and
set in 300 acres. Suites are huge, with canopied beds and sculpted
windows and decidedly un-14th-century Jacuzzis. And we have also
heard rumours about a new luxury tented camp popping up in the
not-too-distant future. Suddenly a week in Hampi is a very
appealing option - enough time to slow down, to marvel at the
beauty and splendor, contemplate the landscapes and life
itself.

To go in style: Greaves
India offers a week's tour to India, including a three-night
stay at Orange County Hampi, from £2,000 per person, including
British Airways flights.

...

Paphos, Cyprus

It's time to rethink Paphos. Cyprus's seaside city is set to remind us how
it was once a star of the Mediterranean, before it became overrun
with package-holiday crowds - it is, after all, a UNESCO World
Heritage City, with a rich history and humbling Roman remains.
Right now it is gearing up for a year of more considered diversions
as it becomes one of Europe's Capitals of Culture in 2017. The idea
is to transform the city into the Open Air Factory - a living
museum of vibrant, dynamic art, with dance recitals on street
corners, independent film screenings on the golden-sand beaches,
makeshift contemporary art exhibitions popping up among the quite
extraordinary mosaics.

Our tips: Go out of season to avoid the holiday crowds and get a
dose of culture in Paphos (stay at The Almyra, a fabulous Design
Hotel on the seafront which is hosting archaeology workshops and
art happenings throughout the year), then head off and explore Cyprus - to the beaches or the hills. Cyprus has just about the sunniest
climate in Europe, warm
even in winter; and it's super-good value, too.

...

Canada

It's a land of epic adventures, Canada.
Breathtaking scenery on a mountainous scale, the colours
hyper-real, the air clear and full of light. Wildlife astounds.
Travellers always, but always, return singing its praises.

Yet somehow it gets overlooked, strong-and-silent Canada,
shouted down by its bolshy little neighbour. But who's winning now?
Canadians are chipper as anything, buoyed by their popular Prime
Minister, Justin Trudeau. They welcome all comers with their great
big outdoorsy arms, and are infectiously jolly - exactly what we
need right now.

Its cities are dynamic, looking upwards-and-outwards, full of
thrusting young people getting excited by burgeoning food scenes
and outdoor pursuits. The current exchange rate makes it all the
more affordable, too. And in 2017 they intend to celebrate their
150th anniversary of confederation with a year-long series of
parties and cultural happenings, and a lot of fireworks.

...

Maldives

'It's a wonder the Maldives isn't running out of islands,' writes
Condé Nast Traveller magazine's acting deputy editor Michelle Jana
Chan. 'This past year a new hotel seemed to open every month, from
the party hangout of Finolhu to the family-friendly St Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort, and the Four Seasons Private Island Voavah with its own
19-metre yacht to explore the Baa Atoll - and the biggest opening,
by far, Soneva Jani.' Also brand-spanking new are
Milaidhoo, Ozen, Drift, Hurwalhi, Cocoon. All are reviewed in Jana
Chan's story on the best new resorts in the Maldives, coming out in
the March issue of Condé Nast Traveller. For 2017, the trend shows
no sign of slowing. Opening in February 2017 is Kandima, and, in
March, the Baglioni. Check out our Maldives section to find your perfect
resort.

...

St Helena

St Helena is Britain's most remote island. It is 5,000 miles
from Britain - indeed,
it is 1,200 miles from any land at all: a tropical, volcanic speck
of rock adrift in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean; and the
only way to reach it is on board on a Royal Mail Ship. It was
colonized by the East India Company in the 17th century; and
despite, or, perhaps, precisely because of its remoteness, was
quite the travel destination for intrepid explorers of the day.
Captain Cook swung by between discovering one place and another,
Edmond Halley built an observatory, Napoleon was exiled and died
there.

The last voyage is scheduled for February 2018. The British have
spent six years and £250m building an airport on the island, which
is slated to open (after several false starts) in 2017, and will
enable more of the world to discover the fruits of St Helena:
tropical beaches, unique history, dramatic rainforested peaks and
craggy coastline, all but untouched by visitors.

So yes, the new flights will make St Helena accessible at last -
but perhaps, for true travellers, joining the last-ever voyage of
one of the world's four remaining Royal Mail Ships all the way to
the South Atlantic is too special an adventure to miss.

...

Belize

Belize deserves to be permanently on our list of top holiday
destinations; it is so utterly beguiling, so heavenly. But for 2017
there are a couple more reasons to go, should you need them.
Francis Ford Coppola is opening up his private Caribbean island, Coral Caye, which you can now stay at (or rent
the whole thing, if your crew is party-sized). It is a two-acre
island, covered in jungle, with thatched wooden cottages and
outdoor showers and hammocks strung between the palm trees. Another
Hollywood heavyweight is planning to open up his private island,
too: Leonardo DiCaprio, who is turning his Blackadore Caye into a
luxury eco-resort. These rather sleeker suites, in dark wood and
marble, will be inspired by Mayan ruins. 'Like heaven on earth,'
said DiCaprio of the island.

...

Chile

'Chile is the perfect place to gaze up at the
stars,' writes Michelle Jana Chan in her weekly travel column. 'Go just before the new moon
emerges. When the Milky Way is so bright, it can even cast a shadow
in the dead of night.'

In January 2017, British Airways launches the first ever direct
flights to Santiago, opening up a whole new part of the world -
including the Atacama Desert - for distant travellers. New places
to check out: in Santiago itself there's a new boutique hotel, Luciano K,
an art deco gem in the hip neighbourhood of Lastarria. And in the
Atacama, the original wilderness hotel Explora Atacama is reopening in 2017 after
being overhauled and updated. For a bucket-list experience, see the
spectacular landscapes and rock formations of the Atacama from the
air in a hot-air balloon - Balloons Over Atacama launched recently, by the
same people who first took to the skies over Bagan, Burma.